As the world continues to shrink, businesses are finding themselves
having to compete with new market entrants that are increasingly turning
the heads of their customers. To remain competitive in a progressively
digital world, they are having to become fully connected enterprises
that bring together people, processes and technology. And the
manufacturing sector is no different. In fact, in many ways it is aiming
to go even further.

Savvy manufacturers are increasingly looking to move towards a
smart factory ideal that is based upon technologies such as artificial
intelligence (AI), robotics, analytics and the Internet of Things (IoT).
It's about joining the dots to provide a pathway to success.
Providing the factory with an embedded intelligence can allow it to
self-regulate and maximise efficiencies from the shop floor to the board
room, adjusting its course and taking optimal actions 'on the
fly' without requiring any human intervention.

A fear of the unknown.

It's fair to say that, until now, the move towards smart
factories has been slow to take off within the industry. The reasons for
this are numerous. Mainly though, it is due to a lack of the requisite
in-house expertise, an inherent reticence to move processes into the
cloud and the complexity of overhauling costly legacy systems. After
all, why would a business want to rip and replace something that has
taken years--and many millions--to acquire? Another key reason is the
fear of the unknown and unanswered questions. How will it impact my
operations? What effect will it have on staff? What change management
processes do I need to put in place? How can I measure value and
success?

But it seems the manufacturing industry is set to take a big leap
of faith, with analyst group IDC forecasting that it is going to be one
of the biggest spenders on IoT over the coming years. Once thought of as
the domain of connected cars and the internet fridge, the IoT is--as we
have seen--a key component of the smart factory. In fact, IDC predicts
that discrete manufacturing will be the top spender on IoT this year
with $119 billion, and process manufacturing will spend $78 billion.

Streamlining processes.

With spending on the smart factory seemingly on the rise, it
appears that the marriage of cyber and physical systems will finally
become a reality. However, for a manufacturer to become truly connected
and reap the benefits--such as better collaboration, control,
empowerment and growth--it needs to go far beyond just buying the right
technology. From IoT to AI, the numerous processes both within and
outside the walls of a company need to be streamlined to ensure success.
Otherwise they are tantamount to a collection of curiosities that simply
sit on the shelf.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) is very much the glue that holds
the smart factory together, allowing it to extract real-time data for
immediate analysis and informed decision making. Latch and hinge
manufacturer Southco is one such company to have enjoyed the benefits.
ERP quickly revealed the true level of plant utilization on its shop
floor following a recent implementation. Southco found that its overall
equipment efficiency (OEE) levels were running at a mere 52%, a far cry
from its target rate. Armed with this insight, the company was able to
raise this figure to 85% and even retire five old moulding machines
without having to replace them, due to the improved efficiencies;
contributing to a net gain of $700,000 to date.

Being faster and smarter.

If not approached in the right way, the fourth industrial
revolution could become a wasteland of expensive technology that becomes
meaningless because it wasn't integrated efficiently--realising the
fears which have hindered some manufacturers' adoption to date.
It's not just about connectivity. It's about what you do with
those connections to make your business run faster and smarter.
It's about tapping into automation for data collection, IoT and
workflows, to streamline processes that were labourintensive in the
past.

Boers & Co FineMetalworking Group saw time compression across
all of its processes was critical to ensure it could meet the complex
and morphing demands of its customers. It used ERP to roll-out a wide
range of Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM) techniques to ensure the
fast movement of jobs, projects, processes and information across the
business to reduce customer leadtimes. This provided end-to-end
intelligence throughout the factory, improving efficiencies and
collaboration.

Thriving in a global marketplace.

Manufacturers large and small are needing to bring their people,
processes and technology together to not just survive, but thrive in a
global marketplace. They have learnt from businesses that have fallen by
the wayside, that dipping their toes into using relatively new
technologies is not enough to truly connect a business. However, taking
the giant leap to a smart factory is scary for many. Therefore,
manufacturers need to ensure they get a timely return from any
investment they make. ERP is the tool which will enable them to get the
most out of their investments in new technologies. That way they can
continue on their path towards a smart factory utopia.

www.epicor.com

Terri Hiskey, vice president of product marketing for manufacturing
at Epicor Software.

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